Toy.



W. P. GASTEEN.

TOY.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 19,1909.

Patented Feb. 22, 1910.

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WILLIAM P. CASTEEN, OF NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE.

TOY.

Specification of Letters latent.

Patented Feb. 22, 1910.

Application filed June 19, 1909. Serial No. 503,234.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM P. CASTEEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Nashville, in the county of Davidson and State of Tennessee, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Toys, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to toys, and has for its object to provide a comparatively simple and inexpensive device of this character designed to afford a source of amusement to children or other persons using the same.

A further object is to provide a toy including spaced rigidly connected manikins having pivoted legs of different lengths, one of said manikins being provided with a laterally extended handle so that by allowing the feet of the manikins to rest on a table or other suitable support and oscillating the handle the manikins may be caused to imitate the movements of a dancer and execute a variety of different jig-steps.

For a full understanding of the invention and the merits thereof, and also to acquire a knowledge of the details of construction and the means for effecting the result, reference is to be had to the following description and accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of a toy constructed in accordance with my invention, showing in the full lines the position assumed by the figures or manikins when placed in position above a table or other suitable support, and the dotted lines showing the position of said figures when the operating handle is depressed to oscillate the figures; Fig. 2 is a rear view of one of the manikins detached; Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the lower end or trunk portion of one of the manikins showing the manner of connecting the legs therewith; Fig. 4 is a similar view of one of the feet sections, a portion thereof being broken away to show the manner of pivotally connecting the leg section thereto, and Fig. 5 is a detail side elevation showing the position assumed by the leg sections of the manikins when the feet sections thereof are allowed to rest on the table top or support.

Corresponding and like parts are referred to in the following description and indicated in all the views of the accompanying drawings by the same reference characters.

The device comprises spaced manikins 5 and 6, formed of wood, or other suitable material and each including a trunk or torso and a head portion of any suitable design and configuration. I

The lower end of the trunk of each manikm is provided with spaced transverse slots or kerfs in which are pivotally mounted the adjacent ends of depending levers 8, the lower ends of said levers being pivotally connected at 9 to relatively short levers 10, the levers 8 and 10 forming the legs of the manikin.

Pivotally connected at 11 with the lower leg sections or levers 10 are relatively short blocks or strips 12 which form the feet of the dancing figures, the free ends of the strlps or feet being stepped at 13 to form toe portions.

The strips 12 are formed or provided with depressions 14 for the reception of the adjacent ends of the levers or leg sections 10, the lower ends of the sections 10 being cnrved to conform to the walls of the depres- S1011 1 1 in order to allow free swinging movement of the members 12 on said levers.

The upper ends of the leg sections or levers 8 are reduced at 15 to form oppositely disposed inclined shoulders 16 adapted to bear against the end of the adjacent trunk portion 5 thereby to limit the swinging movement of the leg sections.

The manikins are rigidly united by a transverse connecting bar, 17, the opposite ends of which are seated in suitable openings in the trunk portions of the adjacent manikins so as to cause the dancing figures to move in unison.

The trunk of one of the manikins, preferably the manikin 6, is provided with a ta pered recess 18 adapted to receive the correspondingly tapered port-ion of an operating handle 19 so that by oscillating the handle 19 the manikins may be caused to simulate the movements of a dancer and thus execute dilferent jig-steps.

Attention is here called to the fact that the pivoted levers or leg sections 9 and 10 of the forward manikin 5 are slightly longer than the pivoted legs or levers of the rear manikin 6 so that when the figures are in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1 the forward manikin 5 may be caused to dance or oscillate independently of the rear manikin and when the free end of the handle or operating lever 19 is moved downwardly to the dotted line position the manikin 6 will be tilted rearwardly so that the feet sections 12 thereof will touch the table manikin 6 will assume a vertical position 7 while the pivoted leg sections of the forward manikin being longer than the leg sections of the rear manikin will be bent outwardly at the joint or pivotal point 9, as best shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings, the feet and leg sections assuming different positions each time the handle 9 is oscillated.

The device may be made in diiferent sizes and shapes and painted or otherwise embellished so as to render the same attractive.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. A toy comprising spaced, rigidly connected manikins, having pivoted legs, and an operating handle extending laterally from one of said manikins.

2. A toy comprising spaced manikins having pivoted legs, a bar forming a rigid connection between the trunk of each manikin, and an operating handle extending laterally from the trunk of one of said manikins.

3. A toy comprising spaced manikins having pivoted legs of difierent lengths, a bar forming a rigid connection between the trunks of said manikins and an operating handle extending laterally from the trunk of one of said manikins.

4:. A toy comprising spaced inanikins having pivoted legs of different lengths, a bar forming a rigid connection between the trunks of said manikins, the trunk of one of said manikins being provided with an opening, the walls of which are tapered, and an operating handle adapted to engage the tapered walls of the opening, the free ends ofthe handle being inclined downwardly.

5. A toy comprising spaced rigidly connected manikins having legs on different lengths, and an operating handle extending downwardly and rearwardly from one of the manikins, the feet sections of the manikins being disposed in a horizontal plane when the free end of the handle is tilted downwardly.

6. A toy comprising spaced nianikins each including a body portion having its lower end formed with spaced kerfs, spaced sets of levers having their inner ends pivoted and their upper ends seated within the kerfs in the body portion and pivotally connected therewith, their lower ends provided with curved terminals, feet sections pivotally connected with the adjacent ends of the levers and having segmental recesses formed therein for the reception of the levers, the free ends of the feet sections being stepped, a bar forming a rigid connection between the body portion of each of the manikins, and an operating lever extending laterally from the body portion of one of said manikins.

In testimony'whereof I aflix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

lVILLIAM P. GASTEEN. lVitnesses:

E. H. ROY, WVn. C. HALL, Jr. 

